ADJOURNMENT OF THE 2025 REGULAR LOUISIANA LEGISLATIVE SESSION

We have just completed another year of success by supporting the passage of bills that enhance our retirement plan for current and future retirees. Most importantly, we have successfully opposed bills that would have negatively impacted our retirement plan, such as Senate Bill 7 by Senator Valarie Hodges.

These successes are due entirely to advocacy efforts by our membership. Members proved, once again, that advocacy does make a difference with the legislature. Thank you for your continued support and the amazing responses that were received following our Call to Action emails! This marks LRTA’s tenth year of legislative successes in protecting and enhancing our retirement plan through The Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL).

If you are not a member, LRTA encourages you to join today. The Association provides real-time updates relevant and essential to Louisiana retired educators. Our next newsletter will be published on July 1, detailing bills tracked and battles won, not just during the 2025 regular legislative session, but throughout the last decade!

Investments Related / Environment, Social, Governance (ESG):

Senate Bill 7 by Senator Valarie Hodges

This bill would have imposed new requirements and restrictions on companies that contract with Louisiana’s state and statewide retirement systems to manage the systems’ assets or provide proxy voting services.

It explicitly applies fiduciary duties to proxy voting and requires that any contractor who casts shareholder proxy votes related to retirement system assets commits to following certain proxy voting guidelines.

• LRTA opposed
• Author did not run bill

Repeal of Mineral Revenue Dedication to Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL):

House Bill 678 (formerly HB 472) and adopted companion House Bill 683 (formerly HB 599) by Representative Julie Emerson

The bill is a proposed constitutional amendment that proposes to remove dedication of mineral revenues to the Budget Stabilization Fund. Increases funding cap to 7.5% of previous year’s state revenue (from 4% in current constitution).

As amended, HB 678/companion HB 683 both also call for the repeal of mineral dedications to the TRSL UAL. To date, TRSL has received approximately $104.7 million under these provisions (Act 679 of 2016).

Furthermore, the bill requires that a proposal to repeal the Revenue Stabilization Fund be submitted to voters.

HB 678 – effective if enacted through statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026.

HB 599 – effective if HB 678 is approved by voters and takes effect.

• LRTA supported
• Bill did not pass / referred to the Committee on Finance

Payments Toward Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL):

ACT No. 222 (formerly House Bill 473) by Representative Julie Emerson

This bill proposes to make various changes in Article VII of the Louisiana State Constitution as related to protected funds and would add Constitutional Article VII §10.17, a new article relative to TRSL.

The proposed amendment would require the State Treasurer to transfer to TRSL the balance of three constitutionally established education trust funds to make a one-time payment to erase a portion of the retirement debt owed to TRSL, also known as the Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL). The one-time payment would pay off TRSL’s two oldest debt schedules, thereby, reducing the employer contribution rate for TRSL-participating employers.

If such monies are insufficient to fully liquidate a debt schedule, TRSL is required to re-amortize the remaining debt for that schedule with annual level-dollar payments over the remainder of the original amortization period.

HB 473 also includes a requirement that employers use the net savings from the reduction of their employer contributions to provide the permanent salary increase for certificated and noncertificated school personnel authorized in companion House Bill 466. The Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula will include funds for equivalent permanent salary increases for those public K-12 employers that do not participate in TRSL.

As amended, the bill becomes effective following a statewide election to be held April 18, 2026 in which HB 473 would appear on the ballot .

• LRTA supported
• Bill passed / ACT No. 222

Companion Legislation Related to Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) Payment:

ACT No. 366 (formerly House Bill 466) by Representative Josh Carlson

This bill, as amended, is a companion bill to HB 473 and requires each public school system to provide a permanent salary increase (plus any related benefits) of at least $2,250 for certificated personnel and at least $1,125 for non-certificated personnel, beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

It also requires each school system to fund the cost using the net savings realized from the reduction in its FY 2026-27 employer contribution rate due to a one-time payment of certain UAL schedules by the state.

The bill provides that personnel receiving the salary increase are those in a position receiving the stipend provided in FY 2024-25 It also provides for additional MFP funding if savings realized do not cover cost of raises and restricts school district use of excess savings to certain categories, and ensures that these permanent salary increases shall not replace or offset any salary increase or supplement already in place.

HB 466 becomes effective if/when HB 473 is adopted at a statewide election.

• LRTA supported
• Bill passed / ACT No. 366

Supplemental Payment toward Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL):

ACT No. 461 (formerly House Bill 460) by Representative Jack McFarland

This bill makes supplemental appropriations to the unfunded accrued liability (UAL) for FY 2024-2025 surplus funds in the state treasury as required by the Louisiana State Constitution.

As amended, the bill provides $148,771,996 to the Louisiana State Police Department and transfers a portion of mineral revenues providing $7,594 to TRSL.

• LRTA supported
• Bill passed / ACT No. 461

Citizenship/Immigration Verification and Public Benefits:

ACT No. 351 (formerly House Bill 307) by Representative Chance Henry

The amended bill requires any state agencies that pay public benefits (such as retirement pensions) to verify whether an applicant, who applies for such benefits, is a citizen of the U.S. or a qualifying alien.

Upon the termination of any reasonable opportunity period to verify citizenship status or receipt of a final verification that indicates that the applicant is not a citizen or lacks satisfactory immigration status, the bill proposed that the state agency or political subdivision shall:

• Refer the applicant’s information and unsatisfactory immigration status to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Terminate benefits
• Would require the state agency/political subdivision that administers benefits to annually submit a report on the number of individuals whose benefits were terminated to the Senate President, Speaker of the House, Governor, and the legislative library. It also requires an annual report to be submitted to the LA Secretary of State.
• LRTA neutral following amendments
• Bill passed / ACT No. 351

Return To Work (RTW):

House Bill 20 by Representative Pat Moore

The bill, IF it passes, would increase the limit from 25% to 50% of a retiree’s final average compensation (FAC), for those retirees who retired on/after July 1, 2020 and select RTW Option 1 (no benefit suspension) when returning to work. As in current law, the retiree’s benefit would be reduced when the earnings limit is reached. It also requires that any cost of proposed law be funded with additional employer contributions.

• LRTA neutral
• Bill did not pass this session

Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) & TRSL Membership:

ACT No. 47 (formerly House Bill 24) by Representative Tony Bacala

The new law makes changes to the terms of the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), a defined contribution plan available to unclassified faculty and staff in higher education.

Extends the window for ORP participants to switch back to the TRSL defined benefit plan from five years after first ORP eligibility to seven years.

Creates a window for certain ORP participants (whose first employment in Louisiana higher education occurred before August 1, 2020, but were ineligible to make an irrevocable election to transfer to TRSL on June 30, 2024) to become a member of the TRSL regular retirement plan should they return to employment in a TRSL-eligible position. These ORP participants will need to make the switch to TRSL by the later of September 2, 2025, or sixty days after the date of reemployment with a TRSL-contributing employer for the first time after July 1, 2024.

Changes the terms of the TRSL Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) to allow those who are (1) at least age 60 when first employed in a TRSL-eligible position, or (2) at least age 55 with 40 quarters in Social Security, to decline membership in TRSL.

Adds the Commissioner of Higher Education or designee as an ex officio member on the TRSL Board of Trustees.

• LRTA neutral
• Bill passed/ACT No. 47

Task Force to Study a Postsecondary Phased Retirement Program:

ACT No. 63 (formerly House Bill 143) by Representative Tony Bacala

This bill establishes a task force to study a phased retirement program for Louisiana’s public postsecondary education institutions, including, but not limited to studies such as the following:

1. Challenges and benefits of a phased retirement program.
2. Structure of phased retirement programs in other states.
3. Potential cost of implementing a phased retirement program in Louisiana.
4. The potential eligibility requirements of a phased retirement program.
5. Time-period for implementation of a potential phased retirement program.
6.  Salary and retirement benefits to be received during phased retirement.
7. Impact of increasing the ORP employer rate from 6.2% to 8%.
8. Shifting payment of the ORP member administrative fee to the employer.
9. Potential costs of using accrued leave to increase the ORP participants’ benefit.

Study must be completed and submit findings to the House Retirement Committee by December 31, 2025.

• LRTA neutral
• Bill passed/ACT No. 63